Wedding Guests’ Expenses

It is not generally expected that you cover your guests’ travel or accommodation costs.

There are ways however you can help ease the financial costs of coming to your wedding abroad.

Transportation to your Wedding Destination

Airlines

Some airlines offer discounts for group bookings.

In general group bookings do not offer a lot of flexibility as a minimum number of people need to be travelling on the same flight to and from your wedding to be eligible for a group discount.

If you will have a large group of people travelling on the same flights it may be worthwhile contacting a number of airlines to ask about a group discount.

Transportation at your Wedding Destination

Airport Transfers

• Ask the hotel(s) where your guests will be staying if they have free airport transfers.
• If a number of guests are travelling on the same flight put them in contact with one another so they can share the cost of a taxi to their hotel or arrange for a mini bus to pick them up.

Wedding Day Transportation

If your guests will need to travel by car to get to your wedding ceremony or reception hire a bus from a local company to transport your guests to and from your wedding.

Or if another form of transport is available use that – For Caoimhe & Dave’s wedding on the Amalfi Coast in Italy they hired a private boat to take their guests from their wedding ceremony in Positano to their wedding reception in Amalfi. This can turn an ordinarily uneventful part of a wedding into a highlight.

Providing transportation will save your guests the cost of hiring a car or spending money on taxis.

It also saves the worry of your guests trying to find their way around in a foreign country and of course eliminates problems with drinking and driving.

Providing transport will definitely be appreciated by your guests.

Accommodation

Hotel Discounts

If a hotel knows they are guaranteed a large booking they will generally offer discounts.

Speak to local hotels and ask if they will be willing to offer special rates to your guests.

We pre-booked rooms at a hotel for all our guests and were able to obtain a sizable discount for them. They were able to stay in a nice hotel at a reasonable rate.

If you arrange accommodation on behalf or your guests it is easy to ensure they will receive the discounted rate you agreed with the hotel.

If your guests will be contacting the hotel directly to book accommodation ensure they mention your wedding and confirm the rate you agreed.

Hire a Villa

Consider hiring a villa for you and your guests to stay in. You may be surprised to find that in some instances the cost can work out substantially less than staying in a hotel which will definitely help ease the financial burden on your guests. As a starting point, I would suggest browsing the villa’s listed in our Directory.